


History Repeating

by bittersweetblonde



Category: One Tree Hill
Genre: Drama, F/M, Gen, One Shot, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 09:38:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17485730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bittersweetblonde/pseuds/bittersweetblonde
Summary: "Code red. Code red. This is not a drill. All students to a designated lockdown area. This is code red." What happens when the Tree Hill residents find themselves in a situation from the past?





	History Repeating

It was a beautiful morning in Tree Hill, it may have been Winter outside, but the sun was shining and the birds were singing, everything felt peaceful...well everything but the residents that lived there.  
Waking up to the sound of an alarm, Lucas Scott groaned. It was Monday again. He didn't hate his job as a basketball coach, but he sometimes wished he could swap his weekdays around with his weekends...he also wished he could swap the mood his wife was in for a better one. Seeing Peyton get out of bed, totally ignoring him, he knew things were still bad after last night.  
They'd had a disagreement that had turned into an argument. Sawyer their five year old daughter had made a start on her Christmas list, it was only October and they were both surprised when she'd handed it to them, but what surprised them even more was one of the things on her list. Like most girls of her age she'd asked for the usual things like dolls and toys, but halfway down her list, she'd asked for a brother or sister.  
In reality and normality it wouldn't have been such a bad thing, kids of that age usually end up with a brother or sister and her cousin Jamie was soon to have one himself. When Sawyer turned three, Peyton and Lucas had even discussed having more children, but it was a touchy subject. Peyton hadn't had the easiest birth with Sawyer, infact Lucas almost lost both of them and when everything thankfully turned out to be ok, they'd made a pact that Sawyer would be their only one. When she'd turned three though, things changed, they wanted to give her a sibling to play with, they themselves wanted to have a bigger family, so they’d agreed on adoption. Sadly it never happened for them though, with them having such a young child and both of them being busy with their jobs, it just never worked out and they’d stuck to what they'd agreed to back when Sawyer was born. One child and one child only.  
Last night had changed it all though, once Sawyer had gone to bed, Lucas and Peyton talked it over. He suggested trying the adoption route once again, but she'd said she wanted one naturally! Lucas was horrified and totally against her on it, but she wouldn't back down and for the silent treatment he'd woken up to this morning, it seemed she was still set on it!

"Sawy, breakfast's ready!" Peyton shouted up to her daughter half an hour later. After getting no reply Peyton let out a sigh. "Sawyer come on, I know you haven't got school today, but we still need to get you fed and dressed!" She called and then sat back down at the table.  
"She's being stubborn like you." Lucas said and Peyton just looked at him.  
"Don't you mean like you?" She asked, saying her first words to him since she'd woken up and he just sighed before reaching out and taking hold of her hand.  
"I hate it when we argue. Can we please just stop and talk about this like adults?" He said and Peyton looked down at their hands and then pulled hers away.  
"No, because we're never going to agree are we? I don't get it Luke? You know the adoption thing never worked out before and..."  
"Sawyer almost didn't either!" He cut in and she sighed.  
"Ok look, I know that you're worried after what happened before, but it was five years ago Luke and she was fine, we both were! What happened before, well it might not happen again." She said.  
"Well ‘might’ isn't a risk I'm willing to take Peyton. Can't you see I'm saying all this because I love you?! God, I'd want nothing more than to give our little girl a brother or a sister naturally, but in our situation it's...well there's risks and there's odds and...I don't want that again...I don't want to face all that again." He told her and Peyton heard his voice breaking and as she looked at him, she saw the fear evident in his eyes.  
"Luke, you won't have to ok. Remember before when I told you that you wouldn't lose me and that we'd be happy, all three of us? I could feel it Luke and I can feel it again now! I didn't so much two years ago when we first thought about adoption, but now...now I do." She explained and Lucas just shook his head.  
"Well I don't and I'm sorry babe, but this...this isn't going to happen." He told her and Peyton just got up from the table and scoffed.  
"Right well you be the one to tell Sawyer that she won't be getting a sibling for Christmas, in fact you be the one to tell her that she can't have one at all!" She said and then yelled up to the girl herself for what felt like the millionth time that morning.

Elsewhere in Tree Hill, the other Scott family were having trouble of their own. It was always chaotic in Nathan and Haley's house, more so in the last six months with Haley being pregnant. Her mood swings had been all over the place, she'd taken over the bathroom and she was still teaching at the school. Something Nathan wasn't happy about.  
It hadn't been so bad in the beginning, being a teacher she was on her feet as much as she was on her seat so there was nothing to really worry about, but once she hit the six month stage and had been offered maternity leave, she hadn't taken it. Nathan was confused at first, he didn't understand why. It wasn't like they needed the money, his job as a basketball player paid more than enough, but she'd told him that she'd get bored at home. There was nothing to do except stare at the walls or watch the same crappy daytime tv or read the same books over and over again. She'd remembered Peyton being on bed rest when she'd been pregnant with Sawyer and how much she complained about being stuck in the house. Obviously if she'd been in the same situation then she would have had to have stayed at home, but thankfully her pregnancy had been normal so far and would be until the end, so she wanted to lead a normal life. She didn't want to be treated like some invalid that couldn't do anything and it wasn't like she'd not done this before. She'd gone into labour as a student halfway through her graduation speech with Jamie!

"Going into work again this week then?" Nathan asked as he walked downstairs and saw his wife getting her bag ready.  
"What does it look like?" She asked sarcastically and Nathan rolled his eyes.  
"Why do you keep being like this?" He asked.  
"You know why." She replied and then saw their son come downstairs with his rabbit.  
"Hey, morning buddy." Nathan greeted, but Jamie didn't reply. "You ok?" He asked.  
"You haven't said morning to Chester." Jamie told him.  
"Oh right, sorry. Morning Chester." He said and then noticed that Jamie wasn't wearing his school uniform. "Why aren't you dressed for school?" He asked, but before Jamie could answer, Haley did it for him.  
"It's a training day for the young ones, you're spending the day together, I told you last night! Sawyer's off too. Do you ever listen?" She asked and Nathan just sighed.  
"Maybe it's because I have more important things on my mind, like my pregnant wife and how she should be taking it easy." He replied and they both saw Jamie walk off into the kitchen.  
"Great now look what you've done." Haley said and Nathan looked at her.  
"Me? You were the one that asked if I ever listened!" He told her and she looked at him.  
"Well it's obvious that you don't! You didn't remember that and you never seem to take it in when I tell you that I'm fine to still be working!" She replied and then looked through to the kitchen.  
"I'm off to work now bud, have a good day with your Dad." She called through.  
"Ok, see you later, love you!" Jamie shouted back and then Haley left the house.

Over at the beach house Sam was in her room about to leave for school herself when she overheard Brooke and Julian talking in the kitchen.  
"I really don't like the sound of him." She heard Brooke say.  
"What's his name again, Tag?" Julian asked.  
"No Tad. I mean who calls their kid that?" Brooke replied and then let out a sigh. "He sounds like trouble, Haley and Luke have said that he's a jock and well all know what their like." She added and by this point, Sam had heard enough.  
"Well fill me in Brooke, what exactly is a jock? I remember you dating your fair share of them when you were my age!" She said as she walked out of her room.  
"How long have you been eavesdropping?" She questioned.  
"How long have you been talking behind my back?" Sam replied.  
"I wasn't talking behind your back. I'm just worried that's all." Brooke told her.  
"About what? Me dating?!" She questioned.  
"No about who you're dating! I know nothing about this guy other than his name and his reputation and I don't like the sound of him." Brooke told her and Sam just laughed.  
"No offence Brooke, but I don't see what right you have to question my taste in guys when..."  
"Hey young lady. I adopted you, I took you in, you live under this roof and that gives me every right to know who you're dating and what they're like. You're my responsibility and I have to look out for you and protect you." Brooke informed her, but Sam just rolled her eyes.  
"Don't give me that, you're only interested in yourself!" Sam replied.  
"Sam, stop with the attitude ok and apologise to Brooke, there was no need for that and you know it's not true." Julian told her, but Sam just shook her head and laughed.  
"Oh look, hubby dearest is jumping to the spoilt girls defence. When are you two going to stop wrapping me up in bubble wrap and let me live my life. Surely I'm old enough to make my own decisions and possible mistakes?" She asked and Brooke raised an eyebrow at her.  
"Yes you are and you've made them in the past remember? God, after everything I've done for you and this is the thanks I get? Sam I'm only looking out for you ok? We were fine when Jack was around, but this Tad, well he's changed you and for the worse. Haley's already told me about your grades slipping and she's worried. You were showing such potential, but now you've become this bitchy slacker who only seems interested in the social side of school and this jock boyfriend of yours." Brooke told her.  
"You know what? Just shut up, you don't know anything! You're not my real Mom and you never will be. I'm done with all this!" Sam shouted and then grabbed her school bag and stormed out of the door!

Jack had just arrived at school and he was already in a foul mood. He was currently living in a foster home and he hated it, but what made his life feel even worse was his relationship with Sam and how it had changed. They used to be close, really close. Close enough to the point of them kissing and possibly becoming more than friends, but it all changed when Tad came along. He'd rocked up as the new guy at their school and like most new guys, all the girls flocked to him, but he only had his eye on one, that one being Sam. Unlike all the other girls, she'd ignored Tad to begin with, didn't see the fuss in him and that's what had got him interested in her. The more he pursued her, the more she started to fall for him and the more that happened, the more she distanced herself from Jack. It was at the point now where they didn't talk any more and she'd become a female version of Tad himself! Since she started seeing him, she'd become popular, she didn't hang around with him anymore, her attitude had changed and so had her personality, but what was really annoying to Jack was that he still had feelings for her and the more he saw her on the arm of Tad, the more jealous he got.  
Walking into the school, he happened to see the pair of them laughing at Sam's locker and as well as feeling jealous, he also felt hurt and angry. Hurt because Sam had ditched him in favour of Tad, he no longer had anyone to talk to about his hate for the foster home he was in or the struggles he was facing in school with his grades or life in general really and he felt angry because Tad was the guy that had taken her away from him and had caused all this.  
Watching them laughing from the distance was bad enough, but then as he saw Tad lean in and the pair of them start kissing, Jack couldn't handle it and reached inside the pocket of his jeans. With a shaky hand, he retrieved the small hand gun from his pocket and aimed it in Tad's direction.  
It all happened in slow motion, it was like some sort of blurred dream to Jack and a nightmare to everyone else that was in the corridor, but the sound of the gun shot as Jack pulled the trigger made everyone aware of how real the situation was!

Hearing her phone ring, Peyton answered it later that morning to hear her brother in law on the other end. "Hey Nate, what's up?" She asked.  
"Well seeing as the kids have got the day off school, I was wondering if you wanted to take them somewhere...and also if you fancied a chat?" He added and with the sibling situation her and Lucas were going through at the moment she could really do with one.  
"Yeah, that would be brilliant actually. Shall we meet you at the park just out of town?" She asked and he agreed.  
It didn't take them long to get there and Jamie and Sawyer soon hit the swings with Jamie promising to take care of his younger cousin while Nathan and Peyton sat down and watched on from the distance.  
"He's going to be a great big brother." Peyton commented and Nathan nodded.  
"Yeah, I just wish me and Haley could be better parents to him at the moment." Nathan admitted and Peyton looked at him confused. "It's nothing major, but we can't seem to agree on her taking maternity leave. She keeps wanting to work and I think she should be taking it easy." He explained and Peyton just nodded.  
"So that's what you wanted to chat about." She said and he nodded.  
"Who's right? I mean am I wrong to want her to take it easy or is she right for not wanting to?" He asked and Peyton just sighed.  
"Honestly? I'm probably not the person you should be asking right now, but it's her body Nate and if she feels up to doing what she's doing then you've just got to let her." She told him and he nodded.  
"I know, I just worry that's all." He said and she smiled.  
"Haley knows that and if it makes you feel any better, she's the most sensible person I know. She wouldn't turn down maternity leave out of stubbornness and I'm sure if things started to get too much and she was tired and stuff, then she'd stop working, but she knows what she's doing Nate, you just have to let her get on with it." She explained and Nathan nodded. Peyton was right.  
"So what about you?" He asked. "You said you weren't the person I should have been asking right now and you said a chat would be brilliant on the phone before. What's going on with you?" He questioned and Peyton looked over at her daughter who was happily playing away before looking back at Nathan.  
"Sawyer wants a brother or sister." She told him. "In fact the request is on her Christmas list." She added and Nathan let out a small chuckle.  
"Would be handy if Santa Claus really could bring her one right?" He joked and Peyton let out a small smile.   
"Lucas suggested trying adoption again, but I said I wanted us to try properly and we can't agree. We're probably being bad parents to her like you think you and Haley are being to Jamie right now." She said and Nathan just laughed.  
"God, when did our lives get so...adult?" He asked.  
"Hmm, probably when I fell in love with your brother and you fell in love with his best friend." She replied with a laugh.  
"Yeah...think how simple things would have been if me and you had just stayed together." He joked and she just hit him.  
"Shut up and hey come on, I helped you before, you need to help me now. What am I meant to do?" She asked and Nathan just looked over at their kids before looking back at his sister in law.  
"You've got a great girl over there, she's half you and half Luke and she's lucky. She's lucky because she's got great parents and she's lucky because she's here. God. I saw Luke and all those months of worry he went through, I remember Haley telling me how you were putting on a brave face back then. Do you really want to go through all that again when you've already got what you wanted so badly?" He asked and Peyton shrugged.  
"I didn't so much before last night...but she wants a sibling Nate." She replied.  
"Then give her one. Look just because the adoption thing didn't work out before, it doesn't mean it's not going to again. Luke's as sensible as Haley, that's probably why they're best friends and he's right to suggest the adoption route. You and Sawyer...well he nearly lost you both and I know if it was me, I wouldn't want to face that ever again. It was bad enough when Haley got hit by that car when she was pregnant with Jamie." He explained and Peyton nodded, he was right.  
"I've been so stupid." She said with a sigh and Nathan just smiled.  
"Well you're in good company." He replied and she just nudged him before watching the kids again. Both of them knowing they had some apologising to do to their other half’s when they got home from work.

Hearing a loud sound and tons of commotion out in the corridors, Haley was suddenly shocked to see all the students rushing past her classroom like a stampede of elephants. She wasn't exactly sure what had happened, but it did remind her of a moment from the past and as soon as she heard the principles voice coming through the speaker system she realised she was about to relive that moment all over again.  
"Code red. Code red. This is not a drill. All students to a designated lockdown area. This is code red."  
Lucas and Skills meanwhile had just set up in the gym when they heard the principles voice over the speaker system and both of them looked at each other, instantly remembering back to the last time this had happened. This was like Jimmy Edwards all over again.  
Making her way to the Tutor Centre, Haley couldn't quite believe this was happening. A school shooting shouldn't happen in anyone's lifetime, let alone twice. As soon as she set foot in the Tutor Centre, she got flashbacks, but she knew she had to put them to the back of her mind for now and concentrate on calming down the pupils that were flocking in and also concentrate on her baby. Stress and worry wasn't good, screw that, this whole situation wasn't good!  
"What do we do, do we stay here?" Skills asked in panic as him and Lucas tried to figure out what was best. The gym wasn't a designated lockdown area, but if they were to try and make their way to one, they could get shot!  
"I don't know...is there anyone in the locker rooms?" Luke replied and Skills shrugged.  
"I dint hear nobody before, but I don't wanna check either...what if that's where the shooter is?" Skills asked and Luke ran a hand over his face and then grabbed a baseball bat. "Luke no, you insane?!" He added, knowing that his friend was going to check.  
"If there's anyone in there, we need to get them in here with us." He answered and then slowly and quietly made his way towards the locker rooms with Skills hot on his tail.  
"Fine, but you ain't leaving me in there on my own." He told Luke before grabbing a bat for himself.  
Creeping into the locker room, it seemed empty, there wasn't any kids in there...or so they thought. As they were about to head back to the gym, they heard a noise and Luke slowly peered his head round the corner of a wall, his grip on the baseball bat intensifying. Now wasn't the time for flashbacks, but all he could see in his head was his 17 year old self doing this in the library. Thankfully it had been his future wife he'd found in there, but this...well this could have been anyone!  
Hearing someone breathing heavily, Lucas then got ready to hit whoever it was with Skills ready to back him up, but the person put their hands up in surrender and yelled in fear not to be hurt.  
"Jack?" Lucas asked, knowing he was a friend of Brooke's adopted daughter Sam and a pupil of Haley's and that was when it suddenly hit him. Haley! She was in this building, six months pregnant carrying his niece or nephew!  
"I'm sorry, please don't hurt me!" He cried and not just in fear, but he literally had tears running down his face.  
"It's ok, we're not going to hurt you, you just scared us that's all." He replied and then put his bat down on the floor. Skills gave Luke a questioning look and Luke just looked at him. "It's alright, I know him, well Haley and Brooke do more than me, but it's ok he's a good kid." He told Skills who then put his own bat down himself.  
"What you doing in here, you not on the team?" Skills asked, wondering why he was up this end of the building, especially when it wasn't a lockdown area.  
"I just...I got scared and this place seemed empty so I ran in here." Jack explained.  
"Alright, well this isn't a safe place, but for now I think it's best if we just hide out in the gym. Did you see anyone else around?" Luke asked as him and Skills safely walked Jack back in there, keeping an eye out for anything as they did and Jack shook his head, neither of them realising that they were with the shooter himself!

Over at Clothes Over Bros, Brooke was still ranting to Julian over Sam. "She's really starting to test me, I honestly don't know how much more of this I can take?" Brooke said as she shut down her computer.  
"I know, I just don't know how we're going to get through to her? The late night parties she's started going to and the back chatting. Grounding her isn't going to work." He said with a sigh.  
"We just need to get her away from Tad, this is all him. She wouldn't have started going to parties or acting like this if she hadn't met him." Brooke replied and Julian nodded.  
"As much as I agree with that, it's going to make her worse if we stop her seeing him." He told her and Brooke sighed.  
"Well that's just a risk we're going to have to take. Come on, let's go grab some lunch and figure all this out." She said and her and Julian left the store and headed over to a nearby cafe.  
It was when they got in there and were sat eating their food that they heard the news on the local radio.   
"Reports are coming in of a suspected shooting at Tree Hill High, we don't have much information as of yet, but the school is on lockdown. We'll bring you more as we get it."  
As soon as the reporter mentioned the name of the school, Brooke and Julian's faces both paled and they instantly left their seats and made their way down to the school.  
Julian was almost breaking the speed limit and Brooke was phoning as many people as she could. When it came to her best friend, she hoped she'd have information, especially with Lucas working there, what she hadn't bargained for was her best friend not knowing of the news at all!  
"What?" Peyton asked in shock. "Brooke what are you talking about?" She added, her voice full of fear.  
"There's been a shooting at the school, I...I thought you would have heard?" Brooke replied and Peyton looked at Nathan and then at the kids and all she could think about was the argument she'd had with Lucas...this couldn't be happening!  
"I'm out with Nate and the kids, we haven't heard anything. Oh my God, is everyone ok? Have they got whoever it is?" She asked, her brain going ten to the dozen just like her heart was.  
"I don't know, I was hoping you'd know more than me. The school's on lockdown, that's all I know. Me and Julian are heading there now, you and Nathan should probably do the same. Don't worry though P, I'm sure everyone's ok." Brooke told her, trying to convince herself as well as her best friend.  
"Alright, we'll...we'll see you in a few." She replied and then hung up.  
"What's going on?" Nathan asked and Peyton explained everything and watched as the colour drained from his face like it was hers.  
"Haley! Haley's in there and she's pregnant!" He exclaimed.

In the Tutor Centre some of the students were getting restless and angry. "Why aren't the police here?" One girl said. "We need to get out of here." Another one cried. "Why can't we break the windows?" A guy asked and Haley just sighed. She felt for them she did, but she'd already given them the answers to those questions a hundred times.  
"Honestly, it's better if we don't draw attention to ourselves and we'll get out when it's safe for us to. Believe me, being in here might be driving you all insane, but it really is the best place to be right now." She repeated.  
"Weren't you here before, in this situation?" One of the girls asked her and Haley nodded.  
"Yeah and wasn't the dude in the room with you with his gun?" A guy added, putting all the fear Haley was trying to take away, back into the students minds and the image of Jimmy Edwards with a gun back into hers.  
Hearing her phone vibrate suddenly sent her a mile in the air, along with all of the other students. Taking a deep breath, she told them it was just her phone and she was relieved to see a text from Lucas.  
 _'Hales, where are you? You safe? Baby ok? x'_   
_'In tutor room like before, me & baby fine. You? x'_ She quickly typed back.  
 _'In gym with Skills, both fine. Don't worry, we're all gonna get out of here. x'_ He sent and she felt a bit better for reading that.  
"Ok well Haley's fine and the baby is too so that's good, she's in the Tutor Centre." Lucas said and Skills suddenly got his own flashback of being in there with her the last time this happened.  
"Man I hope those cops show up soon, this is starting to freak me out a little." He admitted and Jack's head suddenly shot up.  
"Cops?" He asked and Lucas and Skills both nodded. "The cops are coming?" He questioned.  
"Yeah, situations like this, every 911 service shows up...I just wish they'd hurry up." Skills said and Jack suddenly paled.  
"Hey are you ok? You don't look so good." Lucas asked and Jack swallowed hard before retrieving the gun from his pocket.  
"Because it's me they're after." He said as he placed the gun down on the gym floor.

Brooke and Julian had the radio on in the car all the way to the school, listening and checking for updates, but they just kept repeating the same thing. When they turned up at the building itself they were relieved to see the police and paramedics outside, but that didn't make Brooke worry any less especially when her and Julian hunted high and low amongst the pupils who had managed to make it outside safe and sound and couldn't see Sam anywhere!  
"Oh my God Julian she's still in there, she has to be!" Brooke said, her voice wavering in fear and her eyes about to give way to tears at any second.  
"Hey, she's gonna be ok. I promise." He told her and Brooke shook her head.  
"I shouldn't have spoken behind her back this morning, she went into that school hating me!" She cried and Julian pulled her into a hug.  
"Brooke, she doesn't hate you." He replied.  
"She does! I had a go at her for acting the way I used to act. It was stupid! She's a teenager, she's going to change and she was right, I should let her make her own mistakes and live her life...but what...what if that last one is no longer an option...what if..." She sobbed, but Julian was soon pulling away and shaking his head.  
"No! No, no. Do not even go there Brooke and don't even think it! She's fine ok, she's going to be fine." He told her and she just took a deep breath and got herself together again before nodding and wiping her tears.  
"You're right." She said and then suddenly heard Peyton calling her name with Sawyer in her arms and Nathan and Jamie quickly following behind.  
"Any updates, we've been listening all the way here." She said and Brooke shook her head, telling them they only knew as much as they did. "I wanted to call Luke, but Nathan said it could draw attention." She added and Brooke nodded.  
"I've been wanting to do the same with Sam, but Julian said not to risk it. I just hate all this not knowing, especially given that we had a row this morning. I feel terrible." She added.  
"Join the club, we didn't exactly see eye to eye with our better half’s first thing either." Nathan told her.  
"They all know you love them though Dad." Jamie suddenly spoke up and then started turning his head, looking for his Mom.  
"Where's Daddy?" Sawyer then questioned and nobody really knew what to say. This situation wasn't exactly suitable for Jamie or Sawyer to be in, but in their mad dash to get here, Nathan and Peyton hadn't really thought about that.  
"I haven't seen him...or Haley." Brooke quietly told Peyton and Nathan.  
"He's inside Sawy, he's making everything alright." Jamie told his younger cousin, not knowing that Lucas was actually trying to do just that!

Looking at the gun that was on the floor, Lucas and Skills both realised they were in trouble and they had to deal with this in the best possible way.  
"Did you shoot anyone?" Lucas asked and Jack shrugged.  
"I...I don't know?" He admitted. "I aimed at Tad and fired, I don't know what happened after that, it's all a blur." He said.  
"Is it still loaded?" Skills then questioned and Jack nodded.  
"Why did you aim at Tad?" Luke asked, knowing that Jack seemed vulnerable and talking would get him to open up.  
"Because he took everything away from me. He took Sam, she was my only friend, she was the only one who understood me, but she changed, he changed her. He's popular and now she is and I don't exist to her anymore, I'm not remembered or even thought about and...and it's hard you know. I'm not an average kid, I'm living in a shitty foster home and I hate it. I thought that Sam wanted me as more than a friend, that we'd end up together and now...well now she's with him and I can't handle this anymore, I can't handle any of it." He explained and Lucas and Skills both looked at each other and instantly thought of their old friend and what had happened to him. They couldn't let this happen all over again.  
"I know it might not seem it right now, but things get better Jack. They do." Luke told him, but Jack shook his head.  
"You would say that, you've got a great life. You've probably never known struggle." He replied and Lucas shrugged.  
"Maybe not a struggle like you're experiencing, but I've had a fair few in my time." He said and Jack just looked at him, wanting to hear exactly what. "My basketball dream got taken away from me because I have a heart condition, I nearly lost my wife when she gave birth to our baby girl, in fact I nearly lost them both and I did lose my Uncle in a shooting." He explained, his eyes suddenly resting on the gun.  
"Yeah and we both lost a friend in one as well." Skills spoke up. "He was similar to you." He added, looking at Jack. "He felt alone, hurt and sadly he done what you done and he ain’t here no more. We couldn't help him, but we can help you." He told Jack who just started crying again.  
"The cops...the cops will arrest me, I'll go to jail." Jack said, but Lucas shook his head.  
"No. No you won't. They'll talk to you, they'll get you help. As far as we know, you haven't hurt anyone. You just had a moment of madness, there's another way out of all this." Luke tried.  
"I'm trouble though, as soon as they know I live in a foster home and check out my past, they'll won't take anything else into consideration." Jack exclaimed.  
"Your past?" Skills asked and Jack looked down at the ground.  
"My brother, he took Sam hostage...he attacked Brooke in her store...he shot Quentin Fields." Jack explained and suddenly Skills felt nervous, but Luke, Luke just nodded and then put his hand on Jack’s shoulder and squeezed it.  
"You're not him though." He told him. "Look how about we go to the corridor and see if Sam's there, maybe we can finally get her to talk to you again, would you want to speak to her, would speaking to her make you feel better?" Luke asked and Skills looked at his friend as if he'd gone crazy, but Jack nodded, agreeing to it.  
"I would like to know if she's ok, I wouldn't have wanted to hurt her." He said and Luke nodded.  
"Alright well we'll go." Luke said, but then sighed as he saw Jack pick up the gun and put it back in his pocket, he was hoping he would leave it behind. "Jack...you don't need to bring th..."  
"No, I...just let me take it ok. It makes me feel safe." He cut in and Luke just nodded, not wanting to turn on him after getting on side.

While all of this had been going on Sam and Tad had been hiding out in the library, thankfully neither of them had been hurt, Sam's locker had taken the bullet and like all the other students, they'd made a run for it. Sam wasn't feeling very safe though, she was already pretty shaken up from what had happened, but now she was thinking about this library. She'd remembered Brooke being in a school shooting, she'd even read about it in Lucas's book and the part that was standing out the most to her was how this library wasn't safe! Peyton had been in here, her adoptive mothers best friend and she'd been shot! This was all to familiar and scary and all she wanted right now was Brooke.  
"You've been quiet the last fifteen minutes babe, you alright?" Tad asked and Sam just nodded, still not saying a word, but she didn't need to as the tears started falling from her eyes and then she shook her head and started sobbing.  
Tad pulled her into a hug, telling her it was all going to be ok, but he couldn't get her to calm down.  
"It's not! I had a row with Brooke this morning, she probably thinks I hate her, I was saying how she'd never be my real Mom and stuff and...what if we don't get out of here, what if I never get to tell her that I'm sorry and that I didn't mean it and that...that I love her?" Sam asked through tears and Tad just held her closer and tried to shhh her. As much as he loved his girlfriend and wanted to comfort her, he needed her to be quiet, there was a shooter on the loose, a shooter that knew her all too well and Tad didn't want her or him to be in the positions they'd found themselves in this morning again.  
"Listen, Brooke will know you didn't mean it and you'll get to tell her that you love her because we're gonna get out of here babe." He whispered.  
"Not if we stay in this library. Don't you remember the stories about Jimmy Edwards? Me and you are like Coach Scott and his wife right now, we can't be in here, it's not safe!" She told him.  
"Well we can't go out there..." Tad started and then saw Coach Scott himself walking along with Coach Taylor and...  
"Jack!" Sam gasped as she saw them go past the library. "Oh my God what are they doing and what are they doing with him?! Don't they know he was the one with the gun?" She asked in horror and then got up and ran towards the doors.  
"Sam! Sam no, wait!" Tad yelled in a hushed voice and went to run after her, but it was too late, she'd already made her presence known by opening the door!

Haley watched on as she saw most of the students in the Tutor Centre on their phones, all of them had suddenly been ringing in the last half hour which could only mean one thing. News had got out. She'd wanted to call Nathan, but fear had stopped her and she guessed that's why she'd not had any calls from him. She remembered what Jimmy Edwards had done with their cells and she guessed her husband had too, either that or he hadn't actually heard the news. She smiled as she heard some of the students telling their families that they loved them and suddenly Haley felt guilty. She'd been annoyed with her husband lately and she'd shown him she was. Finding herself in this situation now, she realised that he was right. She shouldn't be working, she should have taken the maternity leave when it had been offered to her, if she had, she wouldn't be here right now, she wouldn't have found herself in this situation again!  
Looking at her phone, she didn't know what to do. She kept looking at her husbands name, but every time she went to press the call button, she felt scared. So far, nobody in this room appeared to be the shooter, but she couldn't be 100% sure. Visions of her younger self being in this room with an armed Jimmy Edwards just wouldn't leave her mind and she'd already jumped a mile when Luke texted her earlier.  
Suddenly thinking about her brother in law and best friend, she wondered how him and Skills were holding up in the gym and if they'd been in touch with anyone? Maybe Lucas had let his brother know that her and the baby were ok as well as his letting his own wife know that he was, but that was the thing, she didn't know. She didn't know anything right now and when she suddenly started getting pains in her stomach she knew she was going to have to quit worrying for the sake of her baby.

Lucas, Skills and Jack all stopped walking as they heard a door open and as they looked around, they saw Sam poking her head out of the door of the library. She looked beyond frightened and like she'd been crying.  
"Sam." Luke said as he made his way over to her and as he got nearer, he noticed her shaking. "Are you ok, either of you hurt?" He asked, seeing Tad hanging around behind her and she shook her head.  
"We're fine, but you...you have to get...get away from Jack...he's...he's the one with...the...gun." She whispered and Luke just nodded.  
"We know, we've been having a little chat with him." He told her and then let out a sigh, knowing this was going to be harder than he thought. "Would you...would you be willing to talk to him?" He asked and Sam just looked at him wide eyed and froze!  
"What? Are...are you out of your mind?!" She whispered, hoping that Jack who was stood in the distance with Skills wouldn't hear.  
"I know I sound it, but I'm actually being serious." He told her and she just shook her head. "He's upset Sam, he didn't mean to do what he did, he just misses you. A five minute chat with you could be the difference between him getting help or killing himself." He explained and Sam looked around at Tad who just shrugged.  
"Well he seems psycho to me, but you know him, it's up to you babe." Tad said and then Sam sighed and looked back at Lucas.  
"Would...would you be there with us, you and Coach Taylor?" She asked and Luke nodded.  
"Yeah and I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." He answered, suddenly getting a flashback of when he'd said that to Peyton and suddenly he really wanted to call his wife and talk to his daughter, hear their voices and tell them he loved them. He'd been wanting to since Jack had placed the gun down on the gym floor, but he didn't think it was safe too.  
"Ok." Sam said after taking a deep breath. "I'll give him five minutes." She added and then walked out of the door with Lucas and over towards Jack.  
"I'm...I'm sorry Sam." He said as she reached him. "I didn't mean to shoot at Tad...not totally. I just...I was angry. He'd taken you from me, he changed you, you forgot all about me. I didn't hurt him did I? Or you, I didn't hurt you?" He asked and Sam just shook her head, trying not to let her fear show.  
"No. No, he's ok and I'm...well I'm fine too. I'm sorry though Jack. Sorry that I've driven you to this. If...if I'd have realised, then I wouldn't have acted the way I've been doing and I would have been a better friend. I hope it's not too late, but you can talk to me now, let me be there for you like I should have been, tell me what's been going on and how you're feeling, let me help you." She offered, feeling more confident and Jack just sighed.  
"It's all such a mess." He replied, feeling his voice breaking. "It was bad enough before, but I've made it worse now." He added.  
"You haven't Jack. If you're worried about the cops, they'll listen...they'll give you the help you need, they'll actually make it better for you." She told him.  
"Will...will you visit me? Wherever I end up, will you visit me?" He asked and Sam nodded and then gasped a little as Jack got the gun back out of his pocket.  
"Even if it's a gravestone?" He asked and Skills watched on, too scared to move, but Lucas, he'd taken control again and suddenly stood infront of Sam who'd begun crying.  
"Jack, what are you doing?" Lucas asked him calmly.  
"What are you doing more like?" Skills suddenly said, but Luke ignored him as he saw Jack point the gun at his own head.

"This is crazy, why aren't the police going in there?!" Julian asked as him and the others were all still waiting around outside. It felt like they'd been stood there for days instead of hours.  
Suddenly a loud shot sounded and everyone froze. For a split second everything was quiet, it felt like time had stopped, the world had stopped spinning and everyone’s hearts were in their throats. It wasn't until a woman nearby let out an ear piercing scream and began sobbing that they all came back to reality and they suddenly saw the police hastily make their way inside.  
"Really? It takes that to make them go inside?!" Julian then ranted in frustration and anger while everyone else just stayed quiet, hoping that their loved ones were ok.  
"Jamie, take Sawyer to the car, sit in there with her for a bit ok and do not leave it." Nathan told his son a few minutes later and handed him his car keys, knowing the kids shouldn't witness any more of this.  
"Nathan I don't..." Peyton started and Nathan just shook his head.  
"We'll check on them every few minutes, they'll be fine." He told her and Brooke looked at her best friend and saw the reluctance in her eyes.  
"I'll sit with them. Julian can look out for Sam." Brooke said realising it made sense. Peyton looked at her, asking if she was sure and Brooke just nodded before looking at her husband. "As soon as you hear or see anything, let me know." She told him and Julian nodded before kissing her.  
The next ten minutes were torturous, people around them were panicking, crying and trying to find out information, but Nathan, Peyton and Julian were just silent...that was until a door opened and they heard a guy yelling. As they looked over, they saw a team of cops escorting him towards their vehicles and Julian had to do a double take, this wasn't just any guy, it was Jack. Sam's friend Jack!  
"Wait what? It was him?" He asked as his eyes caught sight of a plastic bag that was carrying a gun being held by one of the officers and suddenly he felt sick. If Jack had been the one to go on a shooting spree, what did that mean for Sam's fate?

Skills watched on as he saw Jack get taken away by the cops and then he looked over at Lucas. "Don't you ever do that to me again dawg, what the hell was you thinking?!" He asked.  
"That I couldn't let history repeat itself." He answered as he sunk to the floor and let what he'd just done sink in.   
As soon as Jack had aimed the gun at his own head and Lucas saw his finger go to pull the trigger, he'd jumped in and grabbed the gun off him, the shot firing upwards and going through the ceiling.  
"You could have got yourself killed!" Skills shouted. "You could have got me or Sam killed too!" He added and then looked over at the girl who was still sobbing and shaking.  
"You're a hero Lucas." She suddenly said and Lucas looked over at her and shook his head.  
"No, Skills is right. I'm an idiot really, I shouldn't have done that and I shouldn't have made you talk to him." He admitted.  
"You saved his life and you saved mine, you stood in front of me when he got that gun out and I can't thank you enough." She said and Lucas just shrugged.  
Hearing footsteps coming towards them, Lucas then saw some officers approaching and he got up from being on the floor. "It's safe for you all to leave now, but we would like to take some quick statements from the three of you before you do." A female officer said and they all nodded.  
Haley meanwhile was being escorted out of the Tutor Centre with some cops of her own and the students she'd been hiding out with and as glad as she was for this to all be over, she couldn't help but worry about something totally different now.   
"Haley!" She heard her husband shout as she walked out of the building and as soon as she saw him, she just burst into tears. He rushed over and engulfed her into his arms, not ever wanting to let go. "Oh my God, thank God you're ok." He said as he kissed her hair. "You're ok right?" He asked and she pulled away and nodded with tears streaming down her face.  
"I'm fine, but I'm not sure about the baby?" She admitted and Nathan's face soon dropped.  
"What do you mean?" He asked.  
"I've been getting pains on and off for the last hour, but they've been getting more frequent...almost like contractions." She admitted with fear in her voice. She wasn't due for another few months, this wasn't good.  
"Ok, well look we'll get you to the hospital alright, we'll get you checked out and see what's going on, but everything's gonna be ok." He told her.  
"I shouldn't have been there. You were right, I should have taken that maternity leave when I was offered it then none of this would be happening. I'm so sorry Nathan." She said and then began sobbing.  
"Hey, don't even think about that right now ok. I love you and I'm sure everything's fine." He told her and she just let out a shaky sigh before looking around at all the commotion going on around them.  
"Where's Jamie? Is he ok?" She asked and Nathan nodded.  
"He's in the car with Sawyer. Brooke's looking after them until we hear anything about Sam." Nathan explained.  
"Sam. Oh my God, is she not out here already?" Haley panicked. “And where's Luke and Skills, are they out and safe?" She questioned while turning her head in all directions hoping to catch sight of them.  
"Hey, hey look at me." He told her, not wanting her to stress herself or the baby out even more. "They'll be out soon ok, I promise." He told her, hoping to God that they would be and that they'd be in one piece. "We need to focus on you right now and our baby ok." He added and she just nodded as she felt another sharp pain hit her.

Once Sam, Skills and Lucas had given their statements, Sam went back into the library and just fell into the arms of Tad. Lucas and Skills looked on and gave them a few minutes before they all walked out together and as soon as they did, Tad went off to his waiting family and Sam ran to Julian and just sobbed her heart out. She'd never been more relieved to see him and as soon as she'd calmed down enough, there was only one person's name coming out of her mouth.  
"Brooke, where's Brooke? Where is she? I need to see her, I need to..."  
"She's in Nathan's car with the kids." He told her and she was gone like a bolt of lightning!  
Brooke herself had been sat staring at her phone in the passenger seat while trying to take Jamie and Sawyer's minds off what was happening around them. She'd noticed a whole lot of commotion shortly after she'd got into the car and hoped something terrible hadn't happened, but she knew she had to stay focused on the kids.  
Thankfully and much to her relief Nathan had come over a few minutes later with Haley in tow, although she looked in pain. Jamie was so happy to be reunited with his Mom and even more so when he found out that his baby brother or sister might be making an early appearance. Nathan asked Brooke if she could look after him while he and Haley went to the hospital in one of the ambulances and Brooke had agreed right away knowing that it was serious this early and not as happy as they were playing it up to Jamie.  
Half an hour later and Brooke was still waiting for news on Sam, but there was still nothing coming through...until Jamie's voice spoke up from the back seat of the car.  
"Sam!" He yelled and Brooke looked around at him and he pointed to the front window. Brooke turned and saw her beautiful adopted daughter running towards the car.  
"Oh my God!" Brooke yelled before getting out and as she did, she saw Julian strolling up behind her with tears in his eyes and a smile on his face.  
Hugging Sam tightly, she felt her shaking against her and it wasn't until she let out sobs of her own that Brooke realised she was crying too.  
"I'm so sorry Mom, I shouldn't have said those things to you this morning." She said through her tears and Brooke shook her head.  
"No I'm sorry, I should have spoken to you not about you." She told her. "But forget all that, you're here and you're safe. You're ok right?" She asked and Sam nodded.  
"Yeah just a little shook up I guess. It was Jack you know." She said and Brooke looked at her wide eyed and then at Julian who nodded.  
"All that commotion when you got in the car, it was the cops bringing him out, gun too." He told her.  
"I love you so much." Sam suddenly said and Brooke just nodded and smiled.  
"I love you more." She replied.

Seeing Sam run over to Julian, Skills looked at Luke and then hugged him. "Sorry bout before dawg, you ain't no idiot, that girls right, you a hero." He told him and Lucas just shrugged. "I'm the idiot, I was the one the froze and got scared." He admitted and Lucas just shook his head.  
"Hey, you aren't no idiot. You had my back in there, you spoke to Jack about Jimmy and you held your own. You did good Skills, now go on, go see your wife." He told him with a smile, seeing Bevin approaching from the distance.  
Skills fist bumped him and then Lucas saw his own wife standing all on her own, looking lost, worried and scared. He felt his heart break for her and quickly walked over to where she was.  
"Left you all on your own did they?" He asked behind her and she spun around in shock and then hugged him as tight as she possibly could!  
"Oh God Lucas!" She cried and she literally was crying!   
"Hey, hey it's ok. I'm fine. I'm here, I'm safe." He told her and she pulled away, looking over him like she was looking for bullet wounds.  
"I was so worried, are you sure you're really ok?" She asked and he nodded.  
"Yeah, just a little shocked, but trust me I feel much better now I've seen you. I'm sorry for worrying you though babe. I wanted to call, but...well it was a bit hard to." He replied and she nodded, clinging on to his shirt like her life depended on it.  
"What happened, what...what went on in there?" She asked and he sighed.  
"Long story short, I did a Keith." He told her and she knew exactly what he meant, but she was also horrified at the thought of it.  
"Lucas no! You could have got yourself killed!" She shrieked and then started sobbing again.  
"But I didn't ok. Just like I didn't die when I had my heart attack and you remember why that was?” He asked. “Because I love you and I need to look into those green eyes of yours and tell you that I love you every second of every day." He told her while wiping away the tears that were falling from them.  
"Even for how I took off at you over this whole baby thing, which by the way you were right about all along." She said and he just smiled before kissing her.  
"Peyton, I love you no matter what. I love you when you're happy, when you're sad, even when you're pissed at me." He told her and she just laughed.  
"I love you too, God, I'm so glad you're ok." She said and then Lucas smiled before looking around.  
"Where's the other beautiful girl in my life?" He asked and Peyton smiled before walking him over to Nathan's car to reunite him with his daughter.

Later that evening after everyone had let the events of what had happened today sink in, they'd all made their way to the hospital. Haley had ended up giving birth and although it was early and their new baby was in an incubator and would have to stay in hospital for a while, they were told that she would be fine.   
"Haley, she's beautiful." Brooke gushed as she looked down at the tiny, delicate, little girl.  
"Have you chosen a name for her yet?" Peyton asked and Haley nodded.  
"Lydia, after my Mom." She replied and Lucas looked over at his best friend and smiled.   
"It suits her perfectly Hales." He told her and she nodded, thankful that unlike her Mom, this Lydia was alive and she was also thankful that everyone who had walked into school today had walked out alive too.


End file.
